Activity Bottles Helping Quench Growing Thirst

August 25, 1991|By Jon Berry, Adweek`s Marketing Week.

Napoleon called water ``the greatest necessity of the soldier.`` He`d get no argument from Carla Deakins. The ad agency account executive is part of the army who soldier away in Manhattan by day and then head for workouts, their water bottles never far from hand.

Deakins downs a 1.5-liter polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, bottle of Poland Spring still water every day. ``It cleanses the system,`` she says, with the ardor of an acolyte.

She`s hardly alone. Americans have gotten religion on fluids. And marketers are flush with ideas to help us drink our fill.

The Evian Hydration Patrol has hit beaches, street fairs and jazz festivals. It dispenses free samples of Evian and invites passersby to test their ``fluid fitness.``

Rubbermaid Specialty Products has launched a next-generation line of workout bottles. It wants to maintain its two-year bid to brand the plastic activity-bottle market. The new neon-colored bottles feature Rubbermaid`s trademarked ``Up and Out`` seal-tight spout. The company is also sending activity bottles to 1,000 ``outdoor writers.``

Mineral-water makers are trying to elbow into the market with still-water brands sporting trendy, ribbed PET plastic bottles. Perrier Group just completed the PET-packaged, still-water line extensions of its regional waters, launching Calistoga still water. Glacier Water, a new brand from Canada, comes in a plastic bottle with a popup spout.

Baseball teams, such as the New York Yankees, have added workout bottles to their souvenir stands and premium giveaways.

Fitness advocates say the public has just caught on to the benefits of fluids for keeping the skin fresh and the body flushed. There`s an element of Walter Mittyism as well. Weekend warriors quench the thirst they worked up mowing the lawn with workout bottles sporting the insignias of their favorite teams. Whatever the cause, the ``port-a-water`` trend has become ``terribly in,`` says Fitzgibbon.

No figures are available on sales of activity bottles. Most of the market is made up of 99-cent bottles imported from Asia. Meanwhile, packaged-beverage sales, particularly soft drinks and water, continue to rise.